SportsWeek section B ? Also Religion , Obituaries, Classifieds April 3, 2008 Gainey takes over Lady Phoenix BY ANTHONY HILL THE CHRONICLE The coaching landscape for girls high school basket ball is seemingly getting stronger with each year. Head coach Brian Robinson has done very well at Bishop McGuinness (three state titles). Reynolds improved tremendously with the success of first-year coach Monty Gray (conference coach of the year). Forsyth Country Day hired a proven winner in Craig Dawson (23-1 record last year) last month. Winston-Salem Prep made a strong hire of its own on Monday when it appointed Jonathan Gainey as the new head girl's varsiiy_ coach? Gainey becomes the second girl's coach in the history of the program. "I'm excited and hon ored," said Gainey. "There's a lot of coaches that can coach around here. I hope to be men tioned with some of those guys. Every coach wants to be successful at what they do. I know it's going to take work. I'm willing to work. I'm just honored (hat Mr. Watts gave m? the opportunity to build a program. It's good to know he believes in me." Prep athletic director Ricky Holt added: "We feel like coach Gainey is a young and energetic coach that can get the job done. He's coached with Gould for a number of years. Plus, we wanted to hire someone we knew could do the job. We felt like he had the qualities to be a successful coach for us. We really feel good about him." Gainey, who's coached alongside Prep head boy's coach Andre Gould, isn't completely new to coaching females on the court. He also helped coach girls at Reynolds a number of years ago. "It's not going to be a huge adjustment for me," Gainey said. "I was fortunate enough to help coach Pennington with the girls at Reynolds High School. I've coached guys, both varsity and JV, for a while. It's the same game. The ball is a little bigger, and the boys usually have more ath leticism. But it's still 32 min utes of basketball. It's going to be the same." Gainey is described as, a mild manner coach that always stays cool ? even under extreme pressure. Many people associated with the program feel like that's going to be the detrimental quality to help lead a girls program that hasn't enjoyed a lot of wins. Sec Gainey on B2 Jonathan Gainey Jumpin' Julius c Photo by Charlie Pfaff North Forsyth hurdler Julius Evans clears a hurdle during a track meet at North Forsyth last week. North Forsyth , Mt. Tabor and Davie County had respectable performances during the meet last week. Area track athletes were off this week to celebrate their spring break. They will spring back in action next week. Wake's James Johnson makes All-America. Wake's Johnson named freshman All- American Deac is only ACC rookie honored by CollegeInsider.com CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT Wake Forest forward James Johnson has been named a Freshman All-American by CollegeInsider.com and by CollegeHoops.net. Johnson was one of 16 rook ies across the country to be list ed on Collegelnsider.com's Freshman All-American team. He was the only freshman from the ACC honored by the publi cation. He is the second Demon Deacon in as many years to make Collegelnsider.com's Freshman All-American team, following Ishmael Smith's selection in 2006-07. ? Johnson was also named to CollegeHoops. net's honorable mention All-Freshman team. Johnson, Duke's Kyle Singler and N.C. State's J J. Hickson represented the ACC on the pub lication's teams. Johnson was a third team All-ACC honoree and a unani mous selection to the ACC All Freshman team this past season. He also finished runner-up to Singler in ACC Rookie of the Year balloting. The native of Cheyenne, Wyo., became just the third Deacon freshman ever to be named All-ACC, joining Rodney Rogers (1991, second team) and Chris Paul (2004, third team). He led Wake Forest in both scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebound ing (8.1 rpg). He is the first freshman to lead the Deacons in both categories since Rodney Rogers in 1991. Johnson is also the first Deacon freshman in the ACC era (since 1953-54) to average at least 14 points and eight rebounds per game. CIAA tourney is prospering in Queen City Figures show attendance at '08 event was stellar SPECIAL rOTHE CHRONICLE The 2008 CIAA Tournament, held in Uptown Feb. 25 - March 1, marked another conference and City of Charlotte success. CIAA fans flocked to the Queen City for the six-day" tournament in vast numbers and made the city home while they filled arena stands, uptown restaurants, the Fan Experience and hotels throughout the week. This year's Tournament ? I new WIIV1VU iiv ..v .. official events as w^l as an abundance of individually promoted activities that con tinue to elevate the CIAA as one of America's great sport ing and entertainment events in terms of fan experience(s), social networking and eco nomic success. According to Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority research, the 2008 CIAA Tournament accounted for direct spending of over $20.5 million and a total economic impact of $30.7 million over the one-week period, up near ly 14 percent from 2007 Tournament figures. In addi tion to sold-out attendance at tradi tional CIAA func tions, city organiz ers, hoteliers and local food and bev erage businesses recognized the bene fits of the CIAA and its loyal fans. Many party promoters and restaurants reported double-diizit erowth during this year's Tournament week and they are already planning for bigger things in 2009. "The CIAA fans are the best in the world," slated CIAA Commissioner, Leon Kerry. "They support the CIAA Tournament and all the activities associated with this incredible event. We work See CIAA on B2 Kerry How to join Hall of Fame FROM THE I HUDDLE I Anthony Hill Every year I get calls, emails and other sources of questions, wondering how someone was voted into the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County High School Hall of Fame before this or that per son. Sometimes I'm even con fused why certain athletes around here aren't in the hall of fame. For instance, why aren't Will Rice, Norton Barnhill, Robert Little, Louis Lowery and Greg McClellan in our high school hall of fame? Somebody emailed me to ask how Chris Paul could be voted into the hall of fame before Josh Howard. It's sim ple, really. Winston-Salem Sportsmen Club president Robert Wynn is quick to let me know why certain guys may not be in the hall of fame. "It could be because no one has filled out an applica tion for him," Wynn said. "A lot of people say they don't see how that guy got in before me. The confusion lies in the protocol. A lot of people think it is the job of the Winston Salem Sportsmen Club mem bers to induct people into the ?-> Photo h> Anthony Hill High Point Andrews head football coach Rodney McCoy earned a spot in the hall of fame. hall of fame. We don't induct anyone on the face of things." "A person has to be nomi nated. meaning that an appli cation for consideration has to be filled out," Wynn contin ued. "That application can be filled out by that person him self. It can be filled out by his wife, sister, brother, spouse, son or anyone. The person submits an application for nomination. Then we will get the sheet, contact the person and tell them what documents are needed for his particular consideration for induction." " What kind of documents are you speaking of, coach Wynn? "It could be a scrapbook, newspaper clippings or any official document that proves what a person did," Wynn said. "If he or she is coming in as a player then documenta tion of his or her accomplish ments must be furnished. Whether he's alf-conference, all-state, all-american, yards gained per carry, number of points scored per game, fastest time, or whatever his situation is. It has to be docu mented. We also require pic 0 See HIU on B4